Hebrews 9:11

Hebrews 9:11 says, But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;  The writer now begins to speak of the superiority of Christ over the law of God.  Christ is the high Priest of greater things to come and a more perfect tabernacle.  Through the sacrifice of Christ, we have no need to go to a particular place at a particular time to commune with God.  When we gather as the church today, as we should do, we should gather to worship God and not to make sacrifice for our sins of the week.  Though we may need to confess some sin, we already have forgiveness through Christ.  Verse twelve adds, Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  Christ did not need the blood of goats and calves to be qualified to enter the most holy place but entered through His own blood sacrificed for us.  Verse thirteen continues, For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:  The blood of bulls and goats were used to signify the purifying of the flesh.  It was something that had to be done over and over.  Verse fourteen declares, How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?  If the blood of bulls and goats could serve to sanctify us before God, then how much greater is the blood of Christ, the perfect and everlasting Sacrifice.  We are purged from dead works to serve the living God.  I believe that all works done outside the leadership of the Holy Spirit are dead works, and certainly any works done with the hope of earning salvation are dead.  Our worship of God should be based on a relationship with God and not on rituals carried out in the name of God.  Only through the blood of Christ, shed for us, can we find salvation.  Verse fifteen adds, And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.  Christ is our Mediator.  Once more we are told that through His death we may enter into the new covenant with God.  It depends on our acceptance of Christ through faith.  Verse sixteen continues, For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.  In order for a person to receive an inheritance, the one they are inheriting from must die, and Jesus Christ died in order for us to receive the inheritance of everlasting life.  Verse seventeen concludes, For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.  It was only after the death of Christ, and His subsequent resurrection, that we could become heirs of the promise of everlasting life.  We simply have to accept by faith in Christ what is already our inheritance when we accept Him.

Hebrews 9:1

Hebrews 9:1 says, Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.  This chapter begins to compare the earthly tabernacle made with hands to the heavenly tabernacle made by Christ.  Just a Jesus referred to His body as the tabernacle of God, as followers of Christ ours should be also.  Our emphasis should always be on our relationship to God and not on the building we worship in.  Verse two adds, For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.  The first tabernacle was divided into two parts.  The first was where everyone could go to worship.  Many of the instruments of worship were there.   People today may enter into a church building where God is being worshipped, but that is not enough to save a person.  Verse three continues, And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;  There was a second veil in the tabernacle which had limited access, called the Holiest of all.  This was not accessible by all the people at all times, and this is the veil that Jesus ripped in two.  We now have full access to God at all times through our faith in Christ, our high Priest.  Verse four states, Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;  In this inner tabernacle were the things most closely related to God.  Verse five adds, And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.  This inner sanctuary contained the mercy seat of God.  We now have access to that mercy seat wherever we are, thanks to the sacrifice of Christ.  Verse six continues, Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.  The priests always had access to the first part of the tabernacle.  Verse seven says, But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:  Once a year, only the high priest could go into the inner tabernacle, the holy of holys, with a blood sacrifice for the people and himself.  This was somewhat of a limited access to God's forgiveness.  Christ, when He came, did not have to offer a sacrifice for Himself, as He was sinless. Verse eight adds, The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:  The Holy Ghost signified that the unlimited access into the inner sanctuary was not yet come.  The people of Israel, God's chosen people, would remain under the law until Christ came.  We today have unlimited access to God due to the sacrifice of Christ.  Verse nine continues, Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;  The Holy Ghost further signified that the tabernacle would remain for the present time, that is before Christ.  Still, it could not make the one that did the service perfect in conscience.  Only Christ can wash away all the effects of our sins.  Verse ten concludes, Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.  The priests were limited to the rituals of worship, whereas through Christ we have a relationship of worship.  We have complete forgiveness and complete access to the heavenly Father through Christ our Savior, but only by accepting Christ in faith of His salvation provided for us.

Hebrews 8:6

Hebrews 8:6 says, But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.  Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry, one based not on the law of the old covenant, but one grace of the new covenant.  The old covenant with Israel was viewed as a task master pointing people to Christ.  The problem with the old covenant was not the covenant itself, but the inability of anyone to live up to its requirements, until Jesus came to earth and fulfilled it.  Jesus Christ is the mediator of the new covenant.  Verse seven adds, For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.  Again, the fault with the old covenant was not on the part of God but was instead on the part of the people under the covenant.  A failure in any part was the same as a failure in all parts.  Since people could not live up to the requirements of the covenant, a new covenant was needed, one based on grace and not the obedience to the law of God.  Verse eight continues, For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:  This was not a new idea, but had been promised to the people of Israel in Jeremiah 31:31-32.  This new covenant was issued in with Christ, the only One qualified to fulfill the old covenant of the law.  Verse nine declares, Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.  As already stated, the new covenant was necessary because God's people did not continue in the old covenant.  Salvation through faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord is the forever covenant between people and God.  It is based not on our fulfillment of all the law, but on Christ having fulfilled it.  Verse ten adds, For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:  God said He would put His laws in their minds and write them in their hearts.  His laws become more than just words written on a stone tablet.  They become the center of our thoughts and purpose, if we are followers of Christ.  As long as God's law remains just words chiseled in stone, they will never change a person.  They must be written in our hearts and minds.  Verse eleven continues, And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.  I don't believe that this means that we should not witness, but that God Himself prepares every person's heart and mind to receive His word.  Verse twelve states, For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.  When people accept the new covenant of faith through Christ, they will be totally forgiven.  When we become followers of Christ, all our sins are forgiven and remembered no more.  We often say that we forgive but will never forget.  True forgiveness, I believe, means that we must forget as well.  The memory may remain, but it can never be brought up in judgment again.  If God always filtered His mercy through memories of our past sins, we would never be totally restored to God.  Verse thirteen adds, In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.  We live under the covenant of Christ and the covenant of the law has passed away.  Though we are to still follow God's laws to guide our lives, we do not follow them to prove ourselves worthy of salvation.

Hebrews 8:1

Hebrews 8:1 says, Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;  In this verse and verse two, the writer summarizes what he had been saying about Jesus Christ.  We have the only high Priest that we will ever need.  The earthly high priests had to enter the inner part of the sanctuary behind the veil to offer sacrifices, but Jesus tore that veil away.  We cannot confine Christ to a particular place where we must go to speak to Him. Through the holy Spirit, we are always in the presence of God, no matter what we are doing.  Christ is sitting on the right hand of the Father.  Again, I am not sure we will ever understand the Trinity in this lifetime, but we can understand that Jesus Christ died for us and makes intercession for us with the Father.  Verse two adds, A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.  Christ is the minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle.  This is not a physical place made by man, but a spiritual place made by God.  The old tabernacle was made under the law, but the new tabernacle was made under the grace of God.  Verse three continues, For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.  The high priest presented the sacrifices of the people to God.  The people brought the sacrifices to him, and he offered them to God.  If Christ is to be our high Priest, then He must offer a sacrifice, which He does.  Christ offers Himself, the only perfect sacrifice, to God in our place.  Verse four states, For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:   Christ is not a priest by earthly standards, having not be born into the priestly tribe, but He is the high Priest by heavenly calling.  There were still priests that offered sacrifices under the law of God, and there still are some today, but no one can be saved by the law.  Verse five adds, Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.  Earthly priests serve under the shadow of heavenly things.  Christ serves as our high Priest, already knowing about all there is to know about heaven and the earth.  When we become followers of Christ, we have the assurance that one day we will understand all there is to know about heaven, since Christ said that He went to prepare a place for us.

Hebrews 7:18

Hebrews 7:18 says, For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.  The earthly priesthood could not save mankind and was limited in its scope.  There were certain rules and regulations that were to be followed before the priest, even the high priest, could approach God on behalf of the people.  Jesus did away with that requirement.  We, as followers of Christ, can approach the heavenly Father at any time and in any place.  Verse nineteen adds, For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.  The law of God never could and never will make anyone perfect, because we fail to live up to that law.  Only One, Jesus Christ, ever lived up to the law perfectly, and He is the only One capable of being our high Priest.  This is our better hope.  Verse twenty continues, And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:  Those earthly priests were made so by birth.  Verse twenty-one declares, (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)  Though the priesthood may have been established by God's command, He never declared it to be an eternal priesthood.  Christ alone fulfills that role.  Verse twenty-two adds, By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.  It is by the oath of the heavenly Father that Jesus is made a surety of the new testament, based not on the law, but on faith in Christ alone.  Verse twenty-three continues, And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:  There was a need for many high priests over the generations under the law, because no matter how good or bad they may have been, they all were limited by death.  None could fulfill the role of everlasting Priest.  Jesus Christ alone was and is qualified.  Verse twenty-four states, But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.  Unlike earthly priests who died and had to be replaced, Jesus is an eternal Priest.  Verse twenty-five adds, Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.  Christ saves those who come to God through Him to the uttermost.  He is alive today making intercession with the heavenly Father on the behalf of those who follow Him.  Verse twenty-six continues, For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;  This speaks of the unique nature of Christ.  He is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.  Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and the only One qualified to be our high Priest.  Verse twenty-seven says, Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.  Unlike earthly priests, Christ does not need to offer up sacrifices daily for those that follow Him.  He never had to offer a sacrifice for Himself as do earthly priests, as He is without sin.  Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for all sins for all time.  It is sad that so many will go away to eternal punishment because they refuse to accept the forgiveness that has already been made available through Christ.  Verse twenty-eight adds, For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.  All other high priests were under the law and failed to keep it.  Christ came to fulfill the law and was made our high Priest by the oath of God, Who had proclaimed Jesus His only begotten Son and the only One capable of bringing salvation to mankind.

Hebrews 7:9

Hebrews 7:9 says, And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.  Levi also payed tithes to Melchisdec.  He did not stand in self-pride refusing to acknowledge the superiority of Melchisedec.  We cannot allow self-pride to prevent us from acknowledging the work that others do for God.  If we are true followers of Christ, then we must do all for His glory.  Verse ten adds, For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.  I believe that this is once more pointing out that our earthly status does not mean that we are superior to anyone else in the eyes of God.  As a matter of fact, we may find ourselves in a position of being less than some other believer, no matter our earthly credentials.  Verse eleven continues, If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?  Levi was a priest of the law, the old testament between man and God.  The question is if this keeping of the law of God could bring salvation, why would we need another priest?  We know that the law could not redeem us, so we had the need of a high Priest Who could.  Verse twelve states, For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.  When the priesthood changed, so did the law.  We no longer look to the law of God for salvation, but to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross to fulfill that law.  We become a pert of the priesthood of believers when we accept Christ as Savior and Lord.  We can go directly to God without the need of a priest to represent us before God.  Verse thirteen adds, For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.  The priesthood would come not from the tribe of Levi, but from the tribe of Judah.  Christ, the only One able to fulfill the law, would become our high Priest forever by our faith in Him.  Verse fourteen continues, For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.  Jesus is not our high Priest because of His physical birth, but because of His heavenly calling.  The Levitical priest were often corrupt, even though they were physically born into the priesthood.  Our birth does not determine our relationship with God, but our rebirth through Christ does.  Verse fifteen says, And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,  Jesus is said to be after the order of Melchisedec, who was not of the earthly order of priests.  Verse sixteen adds, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.  Jesus Christ is our eternal Priest, not made so by the carnal law that required a person's total obedience for salvation, but by the power of His endless life and power over sin and death.  Verse seventeen continues, For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.  This simply restates the eternal nature of the priesthood of Christ.  He is the once, now and forever Priest, or go between, for man and God.  Christ is the only One qualified to be our everlasting Priest.

Hebrews 7:1

Hebrews 7:1 says, For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;  Melchisedec is first spoken of in Genesis 14:18 and the following verses, and again mentioned in Psalms 110:4.  There are varying opinions as to who Melchisedec was, but we can say without a doubt that he was a real person.  His priesthood did not come from by birth into the earthly priesthood, but he was appointed a priest by God.  If we had needed to know more about him, then I believe that the Bible would tell us more.  Verse two adds, To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;  We know that Abraham offered a tithe to Melchisedec.  Abraham recognized Melchisedec as a King of peace.  When comparing Christ to Melchisedec, we know that Chist is the King of everlasting peace.  Verse three continues, Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.  Of this verse Matthew Henry says, "This must not be understood according to the letter; but the scripture has chosen to set him forth as an extraordinary person, without giving us his genealogy, that he might be a fitter type of Christ, who as man was without father, as God without mother; whose priesthood is without descent, did not descend to him from another, nor from him to another, but is personal and perpetual."  Melchisedec did not arise from a physical birth into the priesthood, nor did he have descendants who followed him into the priesthood.  Verse four states, Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.  Abraham, the father of faith, recognized the superiority of Melchisedec as a priest, even offering him a tithe.  Verse five adds, And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:  The sons of Levi, the tribe of priests, were told to take a tithe of the people, even though they were descendants of Abraham.  Verse six continues, But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.  Melchisedec, who was not of the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe, blessed Abraham.  He could do this because he was appointed by God.  Today, a person is not a preacher because that person is the descendant of a preacher, but is so because of a calling from God.  Verse seven says, And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.  Melchisedec would be the better in this case, and Abraham, the heir of the promise of God, would be the less.  We, as followers of Christ, though we may be blessed by God, will always be the lesser in our relationship to Him. Verse eight adds, And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.  We may receive tithes as the church, but we still die.  The One that the tithes are for though, Christ, will live forever.  Though Christ died a physical death for our sins, He is the eternal Savior Who reigns forever.